Therapeutic Seat Back Insert
A thermal pack as utilized with an insert to direct at least one of heat and cooling through an open mesh back chair. Additional features may include pillow with a pocket, or a bracket configured to place the thermal pack at least in an effective thermal transfer range at a reverse side of the back portion of an open mesh chair. The insert may consist in providing at least some lumbar support in some embodiments.
The present invention relates to an improved therapeutic seat back construction and more particularly to a removable insert which cooperates with mesh-backed chairs to facilitate heat transfer intermediate a thermal pack and a back of a user of the chair.
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ARTNumerous attempts have been made to heat and cool in various ways and forms the back of a person sitting in a seat such as a chair. U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,719 shows a system for ventilating the seat causing an exchange of air on the seat surface directed at a user of a chair. U.S. Pat. No. 7,201,441 shows a similar type construction.
U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2004/0075311 shows an outdoor style folding chair with cooling pocket(s) at the back which receives ice in a pouch along the cloth back. The pockets are described having holes so that the melting ice can leak out onto the ground. While this might be an attractive option for cooling the middle of a persons back when outside, it leaves much to be desired in the context of an office environment. Cooling the lower back of a person with this style chair is also not possible, only a middle of the back.
Additionally, there are various designs of open mesh backed chairs such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,063,677 and Design patent D512,232 or other chair configurations, but these do not provide cooling and/or heating capabilities.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is an object of at least one embodiment of the present invention to provide an ability to provide heating or cooling through a therapeutic pad to a lower back portion of a person sitting in a chair and more particularly in a preferred embodiment, to a person sitting in an office chair through an open mesh fabric and/or back such as a back having plastic with holes therethrough giving rise to a porosity of at least 10% if not 30% or more.
It is another object of at least one embodiment of the present invention to provide an improved heated or cooled lower back portion for a chair.
It is another object of at least one embodiment of the present invention to provide a heated and/or cooled indoor chair having a lumbar supported back portion for at least one embodiment of a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention.
It is another embodiment at least in the present embodiment of the present invention to provide a removable therapeutic device for use with chairs, preferably through an open mesh fabric and/or back.
Accordingly, in accordance with the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention, an insert is preferably removably attachable and detachable relative to a reverse side of a back portion of a chair. The preferred chair has an open mesh fabric there across. The insert in the preferred embodiment has a retainer with a pocket which receives a heated or cooled thermal pad such as a gel pack. The retainer could be a pillow or other structure placed within the frame of a chair supporting the back disposing the gel pack and/or pocket towards the mesh back so that when a user uses the chair, that user's back contacts the open mesh back which is in thermal contact or at least within an effective thermal range with the pocket and/or gel pack thereby providing a conduit for the transfer of heat or cold.
In some of the open mesh office chair styled chairs, a cavity is formed by the framework of the chair back to provide somewhat of a natural holder for this insert. However, in other chair embodiments, other retention mechanisms may be employed which may possibly improve the effective contact surface area of thermal benefit to the user. The thermal pad may be removed from the insert for microwaving for heat therapy or otherwise heating and/or for putting in the freezer or refrigerator or otherwise cooling for cooling therapy. In fact, more than one thermal pad may be provided with each insert so that one pad may be in the microwave or cooler while another is in use. In still further embodiments, the insert may have an inflatable portion to further provide at least some lumbar support to a user of the chair or even vibrate to assist in relaxing muscles of a user. An insert may be sold together with the chair or separately therefrom or in parts for use by an end consumer.
The particular features and advantages of the invention as well as other objects will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
The chair 10 is shown prior to installation of an insert 20 of a presently preferred embodiment. The frame has a series of ribs 22,24 connected to a spine 26 which at least partially assist in defining a cavity 28 between the mesh back 12 and the spine 26 and/or the ribs 22,24 and the like. Other chair configurations may or may not have portions of this or other structure behind the mesh back 12.
Insert 20 may or may not have a pillow portion 30 and a pocket portion 32 which may be integral or otherwise provided relative to pillow 30 and a temperature or thermal pack or pad such as a gel pack 34 which can be subjected to at least one of heating and cooling such as heating in a microwave and/or cooling in a cooler such as a refrigerator or freezer. Gel packs are re-usable and contained (i.e., the contents do not leak out when they go from frozen to liquid under normal operating conditions). The pocket 32 and gel pack 34 may be sized as desired for a particular application but the applicant has found that the gel pad 34 is of sufficient width to cover the spine of the user and extend out somewhat further such as two to four inches or more to each side of a user's spine or so has been effective to provide sufficient heat and/or cooling as will be explained in further detail below. Gel packs 34 relatively slowly exchange heat; they are often frozen when cooled.
A pillow portion 30, if utilized, may be inflatable or not depending upon the particular embodiment, but preferably selected in terms of resiliency and thickness especially when utilized in combination with the cavity 28 to provide at least some lumbar support at a lower portion of a user's spine and slightly thereabove. This additional support may not normally provided with a frame 14 and mesh back 12 as the frame 14 can provides all of the tension for the mesh back 12. There may not normally be contact locations along a reverse side of the mesh back 12. As can be seen in reference to
Although the pillow 30 is shown completely disposed within the cavity 28, this need not be the case as it could stand above the upper portion 38 of shoulder 40 which may be the uppermost portion of the spine and rib structure supporting the frame 14. See
Pillow portion 30 in addition to possibly being constructed having various foam products therein surrounded by an outer covering 42 of various materials could have the form of an air bladder and have a pressure and/or volume control such as a filling and deflating valve as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. A front of a pocket 32 preferably has at least some porosity at least in the preferred embodiment which may further assist in the heat transfer from the gel pack 34 to the back of the user when in use.
The presently preferred embodiment of the present invention has the insert 20 retained in the cavity 28 by at least one of the spine 26 and ribs 22,24. Other chair embodiments may have different structure behind the frame 14 which can assist in the retention of the pack 34. Additionally, some embodiments could have connectors such as hook and loop connectors, snaps, and/or other connectors to locate insert 20 behind a mesh back 12 regardless of whether or not a spine 26 and/or ribs 22,24 and/or a pillow 30 are provided with that particular chair embodiment. In fact, the pillow portion 30 may still provide at least limited lumbar support even if there is nothing behind the pillow portion 30 as it may at least provide the simulated appearance that support to a user.
The retainer(s) 54 contact one or more wings 62,64 of chair 50 which may be used in retaining the insert 52 to the chair 50. Other connection mechanisms for retaining a gel pack in the shell pocket 56 relative to the retainers 54 cooperating with the wings 62,64. Additionally, first and second alternative retainers 66,68 are illustrated in
The thermal or gel pack 56 in this configuration may or may not provide lumbar support when utilized with a bracket 54 either with or independent of a separate pillow. Of course, in still other embodiments a pillow could be utilized as well. The gel pack 56 is shown in
Other inserts may be connected to other frames such as frame 176 as shown in
In still further embodiments, the insert 182 could be provided with connectors 184,186,188,190 such as could connect about the ribs 22,24, etc., or other appropriate structure on a chair to provide a location for a pillow 90 and/or gel pack 192 to be disposed as shown in
Lumbar support may also be provided in other ways such as is shown in
Finally,
Numerous alterations of the structure herein disclosed will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be understood that the present disclosure relates to the preferred embodiment of the invention which is for purposes of illustration only and not to be construed as a limitation of the invention. All such modifications which do not depart from the spirit of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.
Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what is claimed herein is:
Claims
1. A therapeutic pad for use with chairs having backs comprising:
- removable pad having a resilient pillow, and a pocket portion disposed towards a front of the pad;
- a re-usable contained thermal pack removably inserted in the pocket portion toward the front of the pad, said thermal pack configured to be at least one of heated and cooled and then at least relatively slowly exchange heat;
- wherein said pad is selectively placed in thermal transfer range of a chair back for transferring heat to a person from the thermal pack, with the chair back supported by a rigid structure frame connected to a central rigid spine and at least one rigid rib forming a cavity behind the chair back, and the chair back having a porosity of at least 10%.
2. The therapeutic pad of claim 1 wherein the chair back has a porosity of at least 30% and the pad is securely connected to the structural frame of the chair.
3. (canceled)
4. The therapeutic pad of claim 1 wherein the pad is located in the cavity behind the chair back and presses against the chair back providing lumbar support.
5. The therapeutic pad of claim 4 wherein the chair back has an open mesh supported by the frame having an interior perimeter.
6. The therapeutic pad of claim 5 wherein the insert is at least partially retained in position by the central spine in the cavity.
7. The therapeutic pad of claim 5 wherein lumbar support is at least partially retained in position by the at least one rib in the cavity.
8. The therapeutic pad of claim 1 wherein the pillow and a shell is an inflatable pillow.
9. The therapeutic pad of claim 1 wherein the pocket of the pad has a mesh front.
10. The therapeutic chair pad of claim 1 wherein the thermal pack is a gel pack.
11. The therapeutic pad of claim 1 further comprising a retainer securely connecting the pad to opposing sides of the frame of the open mesh chair back.
12. The therapeutic pad of claim 11 wherein the retainer is securely connected to a perforated plastic structural back with porosity of a least 10%.
13. A method of applying at least one of hot and cold treatment to a back of a user comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a therapeutic pad having a front and a re-usable contained thermal pack disposed toward the front of the pad in front of one of a pillow and a shell;
- (b) changing the temperature of the thermal pack by one of heating and cooling the thermal pack;
- (c) locating the therapeutic pad with the thermal pack in an effective thermal transfer range of a reverse side of a back portion of a chair having a porosity of at least 10%; and
- (d) transferring heat through the back portion of an open mesh chair while maintaining the thermal pack in the therapeutic pad with the one of the pillow and the shell assisting in directing heat transfer through the back portion.
14. The method of claim 13 further comprising the steps of:
- removing at least the thermal pack and at least one of heating and cooling the thermal pack; and
- reinstalling the thermal pack in the pad relative to the reverse side of the back portion of the chair with at least a portion of the thermal portion extending from the pad.
15. The method of claim 14 wherein the thermal pack is removed with the pad relative to the back portion of the chair, and then removed from the pad prior to heating or cooling.
16. The method of claim 14 wherein the thermal pack is connected to the pad when reinstalled relative to the reverse side of the back portion of the chair.
17. The method of claim 14 wherein the insert has a pocket disposed toward the front of the pad and the thermal pack is removed from the pocket for the at least one of the heating and cooling step.
18. The method of claim 13 wherein the pad further comprises a retainer and further comprising the step of installing the retainer to side portions of a frame supporting the back portion of the open mesh chair wherein when the thermal pack is placed in the effective thermal range when located with the retainer.
19. The method of claim 13 wherein during the step of changing the thermal pack it is heated and then heat is transferred through the back portion of the open mesh chair to the user of the chair and after transferring at least some heat, the thermal pack is removed and cooled and then at least the thermal pack is located with the insert in the effective thermal transfer range to provide cooling through the back portion of the mesh chair.
20. A therapeutic chair pad connected to a chair comprising:
- a pad having a front;
- a reusable thermal pack disposed toward the front of the pad, said thermal pack configured to be at least one of heated and cooled and then at least relatively slowly exchange heat with one of a pillow and a shell behind the thermal pack at least assisting in directing heat through the front of the pad; and
- a retainer connected to the pad for securely locating the insert at a desired location relative to sides a chair back, wherein the thermal pack is placed in a thermal transfer range for transferring heat to a person from the thermal pack, with the chair back having a porosity of at least 10% with the retainer connected to opposing sides of the chair back.
21. The therapeutic pad of claim 20 wherein the retainer is rigid and connects to the sides of the chair back supporting the pad.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 20, 2007
Publication Date: May 21, 2009
Patent Grant number: 7744153
Inventors: Bryan K. Gentry (Chattanooga, TN), Lewis Dorsey Cox (Leeds, AL)
Application Number: 11/942,925
International Classification: A47C 31/00 (20060101);